10 Shooting Tips From The Legendary Dave Hopla

By Joe Haefner

Below is a video of the legendary Dave Hopla talking about shooting.  Below the video you will find 10 tips to improve your shooting that he mentions in the video.

For those of you who don’t know Dave Hopla, he is one of the most highly regarded shooting experts in the world. He has worked for and been consulted by numerous college and NBA teams.

If you ever get the privilege of attending one of his shooting clinics, you will be amazed. He makes 98% to 99% of his shots while giving a lecture at the same time. It is truly amazing.

Dave Hopla also holds the world record for hitting 18 NBA 3-Pointers in 1 minute with 1 ball and 1 passer.

1. Practice form shooting.
2. Confidence and Visualization are very important.
3. You gain confidence through repetition.
4. You should keep track of shots.  When you record your shots, this leads to you seeing that you’re getting better, and this leads to more confidence and success.
5. You should always think you’re going to swish the next shot.
6. Consistency is the mark of greatness.
7. Target is on the center of the basket.
8. Adjust the size of the ball and the height of the rim to the age and size of the kid.  Europe has done this for years.
9. Best way to become a great scorer is to get time to get your shot off.  The best way to get time is to run through screens.
10. Anyone can become a good shooter.  You need to challenge yourself, track yourself, and put in extra time.  Ray Allen comes to the gym four hours before a game.  Kobe Bryant is the first one in the gym.  Michael Jordan had the breakfast club.

How to Become a Better Shooter – Instantly

By Don Kelbick

I was watching television the other day and two media types were debating how good a shooter a particular player is. They were debating range, statistics and were comparing him to other players. Some interesting points came out. So interesting that I think all players should understand them.

What Is a Good Shooter?

Before you become a good shooter, you have to determine what a good shooter is. Is it someone who has perfect form? J. J. Redick of the Orlando Magic is a textbook shooter. He had a great career in college but can’t get off the bench in the NBA. Apparently, his textbook form did not make him a good enough shooter to get him on the court.

For my money, a good shooter is one who puts the ball in the basket. Is Shaquille O’Neal a good shooter? Based upon his shooting percentage, I would say that he is. How about LeBron James? He is a great scorer but only shoots 30% from beyond the 3-point line. However, his overall shooting percentage is 50%. I would say that Lebron is a good shooter.

I think that studying these 3 players will give you a key as to how to be a better shooter.

The Key

How can Shaq be a good shooter? He can’t make a basket beyond 10 feet. You are right. However, have you seen him take a shot from beyond 10 feet? I know I never have. Why should he when he can be more effective and make a big percentage of his shots inside 10 feet?

If LeBron shoots 50% from the floor while only shooting 30% from beyond the 3, what must his shooting percentage be from inside the 3?

The reason why both of these players can be called good shooters is because a majority of the shots they take are shots they can make. That is the key to being a good shooter.

I think a good shooter is one who puts the ball in the basket. I don’t care where it is shot from. If the shot doesn’t go in, it doesn’t count.

J. J. Redick is a pure shooter with great form who takes a majority of his shots from long range. If it doesn’t go in, it doesn’t count. The result is that Redick is a career 41% shooter.

Become a Better Shooter Today

All things being equal, meaning that you understand that you have to work on your shot every day. To truly become a good shooter you have to get in hundreds, possibly thousands, of repetitions to ingrain your fundamentals. You know that the more you practice, the more consistent you will be. But none of that matters unless you take shots that you can make.

Making a couple of long ones might make you feel good, they may make the fans ooh and aah, but you have to decide if you can make enough shots to be good at it? If not, take fewer. Take more shots that you can make.

If you want to be a better shooter over time, develop a workout program that will give you enough repetitions and enough work to make you consistent. Surely, that should be a part of every player’s routine. If you want to become a better shooter today, take only shots you can make.

To view coaching products from Don Kelbick, go to Don Kelbick Products.

For more information on Don Kelbick, go to www.DonKelbickBasketball.com.

Should Youth Coaches Eliminate Shooting Drills From Practice?

By Joe Haefner

I know what you’re thinking, “Eliminate shooting drills from practice? Joe must have fell off his rocker again.” But please hear me out, because this could help the development of your youth team tremendously.

Do I think you should eliminate ALL shooting drills? Absolutely not.

Should you eliminate most? Yes! As a youth coach working with 5th graders and below (10 & 11 year olds and younger), you should NOT be spending 10 to 30 minutes on shooting every day.

Well, you’re probably thinking now… well why?!?

1. You need to develop ball skills first in order to be successful.

   If you can’t dribble, beat the press, or take care of the ball long enough to even take a shot, what good does shooting and everything else do you? Nothing is worse than trying to run offense and all you do is turn it over. You are better off shooting a 20 foot runner, that way at least you have a small chance of making a basket or even more likely one of your players getting an offensive rebound near the basket and put it back up for an easy make. If you turn it over, you have zero chance to make a basket and the other team probably gets an easy one in transition.

2. They pick up ball skills faster than they would pick up shooting at this age.

   If you watch players at games, practices, and camps, very few 3rd graders could shoot the ball as well as a 10th grader. However, if you watch them dribble the basketball, you will see a much higher percentage that can dribble the ball as proficiently as the older kids compared to shooting.

   That’s because younger players can improve their ball handling at a much faster pace than they can improve their shooting.

   As Bob Bigelow says, you should introduce the skills by gravity. Which means the skills that work with gravity would be the easiest and the ones that work against gravity would be the hardest. Since dribbling is completely with gravity and shooting is completely against gravity, it only makes sense that dribbling would be easier for younger kids to learn and progress.

   Now, let’s say you worked on ball skills when the kids were in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. By the time the players reach 6th grade, they’ll be very good ball handlers. Now, you can adjust your practice priorities. You won’t have to spend as much time on ball handling and you could now allocate more time to shooting, because the players are strong enough and coordinated enough to take the instruction needed to be a good shooter. They will also improve their shooting at a much faster pace.

Well, why is shooting harder to teach to younger players and what can you do?

When it comes to younger players 5th grade and below, they usually lack the coordination and strength to consistently shoot the ball properly at a goal.

My advice would be to include some strength and coordination exercises at the beginning of every practice. Great drills for total body strength and upper-to-lower body coordination include:

Crawling is great for strength and creating coordination between your upper and lower body. You can do bear crawls, crab crawls, and inchworms. You can do them forwards, backwards, side to side, and in a circle.

Lunges and squats are great for lower body strength, mobility, and coordination. No barbell is needed.

After you get the basics of lunging and squatting, you can add pushes to improve lower-to-upper body coordination which is required to become a good shooter.

For the pushing aspect, you can simply use a basketball.

Squat with Push – You squat down, have the ball at your chest, stand up and push the ball over your head.

Squat with Out of Sync Push – You squat down and push the ball above your head, stand up and bring the ball to your chest.

Coach, if I cut out most of my shooting drills then how am I going to score points!?

Well, right now your team is probably shooting around 10% to 20%. If you work on shooting with the younger kids every practice for 20 minutes, you might improve their shooting percentage by 2%. To score more points, you’d be much better off spending 2 minutes every practice emphasizing to your players to crash the offensive boards.

So what should youth coaches do for ball handling, passing, and shooting during practice?

• Depending on the length of your practice, spend 10 to 20 minutes on dribbling and ball handling drills and games.
• Incorporate athletic development, footwork, and passing into your practices.
• Spend 5 minutes every day shooting form away from the basket. Do wall shooting or line shooting. That way, they’re only concerned with their form and not whether the ball is going in the hole.

  Don’t get me wrong, you might spend 15 minutes the first couple of practices to teach some of the shooting basics, but after that your time would be much better spent on ball handling, footwork, and passing.

  Then each week, you can slowly progress them through shooting form where they eventually get to the point that they’re shooting at the basket within close range WITH PROPER FORM. Maybe you can even do some catch and shoot drills.

  Also, I recommend smaller balls and lower hoops so they can shoot consistently with good form and just aren’t chucking the ball at the hoops. In baseball, we progress kids from shorter pitching mounds, shorter base paths, and shorter fences for strength and coordination reasons. But for some reason in basketball, we don’t use that same logic.

Also, here is an article that could help you decide what you should work on: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/coaching/teach-youth.html

Long-term planning for youth basketball

As a coach, it would help you tremendously to sit down and plan what skills you are going to focus on each year to help develop well-rounded players. By focusing on just a few things, this helps simplify your practices and helps you make big improvements in a few key areas. If you do this every year, then by the time they reach high school, they will be light years ahead of other players their age.

And of course, remember to include small-sided games and make things fun. That way, they’ll actually want to play when they’re older and won’t become one of the 80% that quit sports before the age of 13.

Can Golfer Rory McIlroy Help Your Basketball Game And Shooting?

By Don Kelbick

I am a big golf fan. Not only do I love to play, but I am always finding lessons in golf that I can use in teaching basketball. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go the other way. I have not found anything in any other aspect of my life that will help me with golf. If you have read anything else that I have written, you will notice there are a lot of golf references. I even recommend the book “Zen Golf” to all of my basketball clients because I believe there is a great carry over in the mental aspects of golf that can help in almost any other situation.

Golf is the ultimate individual mental challenge. Everything about it is counter-intuitive and makes no sense. If you want to make the ball fly further, swing easier, if you want the ball to go higher, strike it on the downswing, etc.

While reading the June 30 issue of Sports Illustrated, I came upon this article, by Brandel Chamblee, about Rory McIlroy. If you are not familiar with McIlroy, he is a 21-year old Irishman who crushed the field while winning the U. S. Open after leading the Master’s for 3 rounds and imploding on the final 18 holes. He is widely considered the next great player in golf.

The story appears below.

“Rory McIlroy’s swing—a combination of perfect positions, tempo and balance—makes comparisons with the great Sam Snead inevitable. Meanwhile, McIlroy’s surrounded by technique-addicted golfers who have been stack-and-tilted, golf-machined and one-planed to death. Rory (below) is dismissed as a natural by those who think that the swing should be more complicated. Teachers who preach a series of static positions over a fluid motion and scoff at the word fundamentals are the root of the problem. Until 30 years ago golf was taught by former Tour players who talked about grip and grip pressure, stance, posture, ball position, tempo, rhythm and the waggle. These are the fundamentals. Recently I read a blog by a teacher who said that I was reaching when I used the word fundamentals, to which I say he is reaching if he doesn’t.

What makes Rory’s swing perfect is not the positions he hits, but an approach that allows him to achieve those positions. His posture is relaxed and poised for athletic movement. By comparison, his fellow competitors look as if they are trying to achieve prescribed angles at address and straining to do so. Rory’s grip is perfect, but the lack of tension is the best element, because it allows him to hinge the club perfectly and unhinge it properly.

Some will use his swing as a model and show their students the positions he gets in and make it a goal to copy the original, but the genius of Rory’s swing is its simplicity. Simplicity that’s born out of fundamentals, which sadly are considered antiquated in today’s world.

Brandel Chamblee is a 15-year PGA Tour vet and Golf Channel analyst.”

Some may read this article and think it is about his swing. That may be, but I see it as about his mentality. It is not the swing, but how he gets to the swing. It is not where he puts his hands, but how his hands work. It is not about where he stands, but how.

How does this help us in basketball? Well, I get hundreds of emails, I read thousands of questions, “Where should my thumb be when I shoot?”; “Should I flick my thumb down or inside?”; “Should my elbow be at a 60 degree angle or 90 degrees?” I see comments such as “The optimal arc for a shot is 137 degrees, strive for that when you shoot,” and “Make sure your knees are directly over your toes and your back is at 90 degrees to your waist when you play defense.”

I don’t believe that is any way to play basketball. When I teach the game, as I have for 30 years and to thousands of players, I have learned that they will figure out what is best for them by themselves. Throw in too much technique, it gets harder, not easier. Too much science in this game of art makes it worse, not better. Computer analysis, hours of film study, statistical analysis does not, in my opinion, make better players.

It is not necessarily what you do that predicates success, but how you do whatever it is you do. Some of the best shooters in history (see Reggie Miller) have shots that look like they have never been on a basketball court. I defy you to teach someone how to shoot like Shawn Marion, but he is an NBA Champion. Give players the idea, the basic concepts and then give them confidence and encouragement, correct don’t criticize and enough repetitions, the players will figure it out. As they figure it out, they will gain confidence and will acquire a relaxed approach to their skills and the game. Once they have that, their enjoyment of playing and their enthusiasm will grow.

As a coach, it is not my job to get players to do what I want them to do. It is not my purpose to get them to fit some type of ideal. It is my intention to try to teach players to enjoy the game and allow them to become the best players they can be.

It remains to be seen how Rory McIlroy’s career will progress. But, if you watch him play, it is easy to understand how he has accomplished so much at such a young age. I believe using the same thoughts and philosophies in basketball can lead to similar results.

To view coaching products from Don Kelbick, go to Don Kelbick Products.

For more information on Don Kelbick, go to www.DonKelbickBasketball.com.

Drillz and Skillz/Breakthrough Basketball “Attack and Counter” Skills Clinic in the Chicago Area

By Don Kelbick

Drillz and Skillz/Breakthrough Basketball “Attack and Counter” Skillz Clinic in Chicago Area

The Drillz and Skillz/Breakthrough Basketball “Attack and Counter” Skills Clinic held in Libertyville, Il (40 minutes outside of Chicago) is history and was a great success.

Held in the Libertyville Athletic Complex, the clinic welcomed 60 players and at least 2 dozen coaches for the weekend clinic. The Libertyville Athletic Complex is an unbelievable facility. Indoors it houses a fitness center, boxing center, 2 soccer fields, multiple volleyball courts and too many basketball courts to count. We used 12 baskets to work out 60 players.

Friday we started with footwork and looked at it from several different angles. A good 3 hour evening workout that introduced the footwork and the mentality that have worked so well in improving players. The rest of the weekend was spent applying that footwork and mentality to basketball situations.

On Saturday, we worked on shooting, coming off screens and ball screens. Sunday was the day for post drills, fast break drills, ball handling and a few games of 1 on 1. All in all players took between 800-1000 shots for the weekend.

The players were extremely hard workers and were great to work with. Players continue to amaze me. When they give themselves to you, it is incredible how quickly they improve.

Not lost in the shuffle were the coaches. Many of them came to watch  but when I invited them to come on the court and help out, many of them did so. The weekend could not have been a success without them.

I am looking forward to the next clinic.

For more information on Don Kelbick, go to www.DonKelbickBasketball.com

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Why Shoot With An Arc?

By Don Kelbick

Is the hole in the rim the same size all the time?

Do you think that’s a strange question?

When I was in pilot training, I learned that the outer end of a propeller moves faster than the inner end. I could not figure out how that could be. They are all connected to the same hub and it only spins at one speed.

Well, when you look at the definition of speed, it is the time it takes to move a mass over a prescribed distance (e. g. miles per hour). Since the far end of a prop has to travel a longer distance than the part near the hub, but must complete its trip in the same amount of time, it must be moving faster.

So, I ask again, is the hole in the rim the same size all the time?

I would argue “No!”

Try this experiment. Get a round trash pail. Put it on the floor and look down on it. How big is the hole, how much do you see? Now, pick up the pail and put the rim of the pail at eye level. How big is the hole, how much do you see now?

Same pail, same hole, different situations. Looking at the hole with the pail on the ground you can see a big hole. Looking at it at eye level, the amount of the hole you can see is very small.

Now imagine your eyes are the ball when you are shooting a basketball. Which angle gives you the best chance to put the ball in the basket? The answer is obviously the angle in which it can see the most hole.

The ball has the best chance to go through the hole when it enters from above. We have all heard that 2 basketballs can go through the hole at the same time. But that is only true when the balls enter from directly above, when the hole is bigger. In fact, when putting balls in the hole from directly above, you can fit 5 balls in the hole at once (I said in the hole, not through).

When shooting a low trajectory shot, if the ball hits the rim, the forward momentum will overpower the downward momentum and probably skip forward off the rim. With a higher trajectory, a larger hole, more downward momentum, the ball hits the rim and rolls through the hole.

The optimum arc is different for everyone because there is a comfort level here. There is a point where too much arc also adds more distance to the shot and it could turn a 20 foot shot into a 25 foot shot and now you are out of your range, but I would say use as much arc as you can comfortably use.

So, is the hole the same size all the time?

For more information on Don Kelbick go to http://www.DonKelbickBasketball.com.

Beginner Shooting Progressions For All Ages

By Don Kelbick

QUESTION:

What is the best way to have a kid progress shooting from a low position around the stomach or chest (i.e. push shot) to a position in which the ball is set higher with the arms/hands?

ANSWER:

A lot depends on how old the kid is and whether he can comfortably reach the basket or not. The method I use is called “by the numbers.”

Start by sitting in a chair.

#1 – Hold the ball in front of you, by the seams, in the fingertips of the shooting hand.

#2 – Turn the ball and put it into a shooting tee. Hand under the ball, on the fingerpads, in the proper shooting position.

#3 – Shoot the ball as high in the air as possible while holding the follow through. The object is to have the ball return directly back into the shooting hand without having to move your hand to catch it. The only way to do that is to shoot it straight up.

Eventually, I will add a new #3, which is stand up (shooting the ball becomes # 4). Eventually, you will synchronize the body motion and the hand motion. After that happens, I will add the guide hand.

It is important to remember that it takes 3 times longer to break an old habit than to build a new habit. When frustrated or challenged, people invariably revert to what is comfortable to them, which is the old habit, so it will take a lot of repetitions. By removing the basket as an objective, players are more motivated to do the reps.

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Basketball Shooting Tips – What Part of The Rim To Focus On & The Guide Hand

By Don Kelbick

Question 1:

Do you focus on the front, middle, or back of the rim?

Response:

My teaching methods are a bit “out of the box” (non-traditional) and not everyone takes to it. I will answer you questions the best that i can, relating to the methods that have been successful more me but I don’t know if they are the answers you are looking for.

I do not teach target. I believe that shooting is a kinesthetic skill, not a visual one. I believe you shoot by feel, not by sight. I often teach players to shoot with their eyes closed. I want them to concentrate on form and feel, not whether it goes in or not. Given enough repetitions, they learn to adjust their feel for distance. I can routinely make 80% from the foul line with my eyes closed. That is based on that the monstrous amount of repetitions I have had in my life. I don’t expect young players to do that but it serves as a good illustration. Pro players routinely shoot for a higher percentage than I do. The direction of flight is determined by your follow through. Just follow through straight at the rim. To be more traditional, why not aim for the hole? Isn’t that where you want the ball to go?

Question 2:

Where is the guide hand placed exactly? Do the fingers and the thumb point up in the air or to the rim when holding the ball/releasing?

Response:

When I teach shooting early in the process, I teach it 1 handed with no guide hand. Once we add the guide hand, I usually stress comfort. As long as the ball is steady and and your guide hand doesn’t interfere with the ball and shooting mechanism, you can place it however it is comfortable for you, as long as it is the same every time.
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Should You Teach Youth Players To Shoot A Basketball With Both Hands Equally?

By Joe Haefner

While listening to audio interview from Complete Athlete Development between Erin Perry (Physical Therapist) and Brian Grasso (Athletic Development Trainer), they discuss young athletes using both hands equally to perform athletic tasks and why it’s a good thing.

• Shooting a basketball equally with the left hand and right hand.
• Swinging the bat from each side of the plate.
• Kicking the soccer ball with both legs.
• Hitting a hockey puck from both sides.
• Throwing a football with both hands.

They mention that this is good for injury prevention. They go on to explain that if you continually throw or shoot with one hand, it can lead to muscle imbalances. If you constantly throw with one arm, you may get a shoulder that is stronger than the other. This can lead to injuries if the child is still growing and maturing.

Watch Eli Manning warm up before a game. There is a reason he throws the football left-handed and right-handed.

Along with preventing injuries, it should create a better athlete.

Can you imagine a basketball player that can:

• Shoot with both hands equally within 15 feet.
• Dribble up and down the court flawlessly with either hand.
• Pass with either hand.
• Finish around the hoop with either hand.

I recently read an article on ESPN about a pitcher named Pat Venditte in the Yankees organization that throws with both hands. Last year he had an ERA at 0.83 which is amazing for those of you who do not know very much about baseball. He can pick whatever arm he wants to throw with based on which side the opposing hitter chooses and he can throw twice as many pitches.

Would a player have similar benefits in basketball if he could shoot with both hands?

Most coaches try to teach passing, dribbling, and finishing with both hands. If we try to teach shooting with each hand equally in addition to the other skills at young age, would it make a player that much better?

You might be thinking, “That’s crazy. I can barely get my players to shoot well with one hand.” However, it’s still worth thinking about.

What are your thoughts?

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Shooting Tips – Finger Placement & Analysis Paralysis

By Don Kelbick

Question:

Position of the shooting hand before releasing: Is the middle and/or index finger in the middle of the basketball?

Response

To be honest with you, I don’t know where those fingers are. All I want is for your hand to be behind the ball (as opposed to on the side) and in the same place every time. Again, it is a feel thing.

I do not get into the really picky little things, such as what direction your fingers face or making everyone put there hand in the same place. It will be different for different people. I think that the most damaging aspect of any skill, which coaches seem to add to, is “analysis paralysis.” That is a saying where you worry so much about the little things, you examine what you are doing so much that you paralyze yourself and can’t perform the skill at all. I prefer to remain focused on the big picture.

If adjustments need to be made, make them generally. For example, I will say, “put your hand under the ball,” instead of “put your hand here.” I want players to shoot the basketball without thinking of anything. The more minute you get with technique, the more they think about and the less effective they become.

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